


The Little Spark

by Nerdy_fangirl_57



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Adorable Stiles Stilinski, Beta Derek, Caretaker Derek, Cuddles, De-Aged Stiles Stilinski, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flower Crowns, Fluff, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Light Angst, M/M, Mates, POV Derek, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Protective Derek, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Spells & Enchantments, Stiles Has Nightmares, Stilinski Family Feels, Wolf Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-11-13
Packaged: 2018-08-27 00:15:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8379997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdy_fangirl_57/pseuds/Nerdy_fangirl_57
Summary: Derek is running in the preserve when he hears it. A tiny, broken sob coming from the nearby trees. He gets closer only to find a little boy, no older than 4 years old, with moles plastered all over his tearful face as well as watery honey colored eyes and soft brown hair sticking up in all directions. Wearing a red hoodie.Fuck





	

It’s been almost a week since Stiles went missing. Scott called him 3 days ago in a crazed panic telling him to come back to Beacon Hills immediately after days of fruitless searching for the human teen.

Apparently the group of adolescents had been tracking down a low level witch that managed to sneak into the territory. They’d been trying to track down her coordinates using a weird powder Deaton gave them that was supposed to lead them towards the magical being.

Unfortunately, the mystical dust split apart and went in 4 different directions when the group got to the preserve. Isaac and Scott went in one direction, Kira and Malia in another, Lydia and Allison headed in the next one, and Stiles and Liam followed the last remaining trail.

Of course, none of them thought that only an hour later they would be hearing a hysterical Liam trying to explain how the witch managed to magically poof Stiles away before either of the two even realized she was there.

“I’m so sorry! I don’t know how I wasn’t able to sense her but by the time I did, both her and Stiles were already gone!”

Scott tried to calm the beta down by saying, “Okay. It’s not your fault. It could have happened to any of us, Stiles will be fine. We’ll… we’ll find him..."

However, nearly a week has passed since the incident and Stiles is still nowhere to be seen. The entire pack was on edge and it was only making Derek more anxious to find the overly talkative teenager.

He tried tracking down the boy’s scent but after so many days have passed it was nearly impossible to trace it down to where the witch was keeping Stiles.

Derek was doing a perimeter search through the preserve. It was unlikely he’d be able to find anything new but he still had to try and see if he could find something that could help them locate where Stiles was.

After nearly an hour of running through the preserve in his wolf form Derek was ready to head back to the loft when he heard a faint noise coming from just a few feet away. He stops and listens, expecting it to simply be a small woodland creature attempting to hide from him, only to be proven wrong when a small sob comes from behind a tree.

It sounds like a little kid but Derek can’t detect any other scents besides those belonging to the forest. The pup must have been here for at least a few days in order to have his scent perfectly blending with the surrounding elements.

Derek trots over to a small bush not far from the area where the sounds are coming from, silently hoping that the clothes he had hidden all around the preserve were still there.

Luckily, the clothes were still hidden where he left them and Derek quickly shifted back and changed into them. He didn’t want to scare the kid away so he walked slowly to where he knew the kid was hiding behind the tree. Then Derek saw a little boy, no older than 4 years old, with moles plastered all over his tearful face as well as watery honey colored eyes and soft brown hair sticking up in all directions. Wearing a red hoodie.

Fuck! Stiles is a kid! A little, defenseless, 4 year old kid!! How the fuck is this even possible!?

Derek didn’t even have time to process the absurdity of the situation before the little boy –Stiles- was tearing up again and trying to scoot away from him.

“Hey. It’s alright Stiles, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m Derek, don’t you remember me?” The werewolf asked, praying that against all odds that Stiles still had his regular memory and not the one of a 4 year old.

The boy shook his head and tried to make himself as small as possible as a wave of fresh tears cascaded down his flushed cheeks.

“Shhh please don’t cry, Stiles. I can’t deal with kids crying. I’m not going to hurt you, promise.” Derek pleads in an effort to sooth the young boy. He’s already awkward as it is around people, add in a crying child and he’s a complete mess! What the hell should he do!?

The boy sniffled and didn’t say anything. He was shaking and smelled of fatigue and fear. There were also traces of dirt on his clothes and a few scrapes on his cheeks. Looks like he was in the preserve for a while.

“Hey, Stiles?” Derek waits for Stiles to look at him before continuing, “Do you remember how you got here?”

“I-I woke up in this weird room and it w-was dark and scawy and I kept heawing loud things and this lady came and she started saying weird stuff but then she left and I didn’t know what to do so I twied to open the door and it was open and then I ran and then I tripped but I didn’t stop running and then I got tired so I stopped and then I fell asleep on a twee.”

Derek tried not to focus on the sheer adorableness that is little 4 year old Stiles having trouble with pronouncing the r and instead thought about what Stiles was actually saying.

The werewolf doesn’t really have much to go on regarding the witch’s location or how the hell Stiles got turned into a kid but at least Stiles managed to get away. Hopefully Deaton will be able to tell them how to reverse it.

At least knowing that Stiles is fine –although not in the shape they expected him to be- should be enough to calm Scott down a bit. The alpha has been anxious and snapping at people since the day his best friend went missing.

They should probably get back to town before Scott worries himself to death.

“Come on, let’s go home.” Derek says as he tries to help Stiles stand up.

The boy starts to fidget and bite his lip nervously, “Can I see mommy today?”

Shit! Stiles doesn’t know about his mom! He’s so fucked!! What should he do?!

“What?” He finds himself mumbling as his mind races through all the possible ways this could all go horribly wrong if he screws up.

“I want to see mommy… but… she’s sick, so, sometimes she doesn’t want me to see her… can I see her today? Is she feeling better?”

He is so fucking screwed.

He can’t just tell Stiles his mom is dead can he? The kid doesn’t remember anything but from what Derek knows, Stiles’ mom died when he was eight. So, she was already sick when he was a toddler? Does Stiles even remember what his mom was like before the illness?

“You, um, you can’t see her. Sorry. Just- she, um, she’s been feeling really bad today and she doesn’t want you to see her like that.” Derek lies, the face of disappointment Stiles gives him is enough to make Derek want to punch himself in the face.

Stiles looks like someone just crushed all his hopes and dreams but he doesn’t say or do anything about it, as if he was used to it. It makes Derek wonder how many times people have told him he couldn’t see his mom.

The boy sniffled again and the smell of sadness enveloped his tiny frame. Derek desperately tries to sooth the small child but nothing seems to stop the acrid scent of despair from surrounding the small boy. Without even noticing what he was doing Derek pulled the toddler into his chest and rubbed small circles on his back.

Stiles clung to him and buried his face in Derek’s neck as he silently cried. Derek stood up from where he was previously crouched on the floor near the little boy and started to make his way back to the Camaro with a tiny, 4 year old Stiles crying softly in his arms.

 

* * *

 

Stiles was asleep by the time they arrived at the loft. Derek was originally planning on going to the Stilinski house until he remembered that John was at a mandatory police convention in San Francisco and won’t be back for another 2 days even though it killed the man to leave Beacon Hills while his son was still missing.

The werewolf laid Stiles down on the bed and placed a blanket over him before telling the pack to meet up at the loft as soon as possible.

Scott was the first to arrive.

“What happened? Did you find something? Do you know where the witch is? Do you think Stiles is going to be okay?” The alpha asked, anxiety clouding the air around him.

“Stiles is fine, Scott. He’s sleeping upstairs as we speak.”

Scott’s eyes almost pop out of his head, “Stiles is here?!?! You found him?! How is he? Is he hurt?”

Before Derek can speak the rest of the pack comes stumbling into the room. Isaac and Allison immediately go to stand by Scott’s side while Kira and Malia make their way toward the couch with Liam and Lydia close on their trail.

Derek takes a deep breath as he glances at all of them, “Stiles is fine, he’s sleeping right now so be quiet and try not to wake him. But there’s something you should know before rushing up to go see him.”

“Oh god.” Scott groans as he hides his face in his hands. Everyone else appears to be anxiously waiting for Derek to continue with varying degrees of worry of their face.

“It’s not that bad. He’s not really hurt per se but-”

“Just spit it out already!” Liam shouts. The kid’s been almost as on edge as Scott throughout Stiles’ disappearance both because of being the most connected to Scott and also his own guilt for what happened to Stiles that night.

Derek glared but continued, “Stiles is-”

“Dewek?”

All eyes in the room turn to stare at a little 4 year old Stiles blinking sleepily at them while practically drowning in his huge red hoodie. Before anyone could get over the initial shock of seeing a miniature version of Stiles standing in front of them, Stiles trudged over to Derek and raised his hands up in a silent plea to be carried which Derek instantly accepted.

“Hey, Stiles, feeling better?” Derek asked as the little boy lazily nuzzled his neck. Stiles nodded and looked around the room once he was done nuzzling the werewolf’s neck.

“Who are they?” Stiles questioned while tightening his hold on Derek.

“They’re friends. You don’t remember any of them?” Stiles shakes his head, “Not even him?” Derek asks and he points to Scott.

Stiles shakes his head again.

“Well, the girl with red hair is Lydia, that one over there is Allison, the boy with curly hair is Isaac, the other boy with blonde hair is Liam, the girl with messy brown hair is Malia, the one next to her is Kira, and the guy with a crooked jaw is Scott. Do you know anyone named Scott, Stiles?”

Stiles shakes his head yet again.

Derek raises a curious eyebrow at Scott who blinks dumbly before explaining, “We met in kindergarten. I might be wrong but I don’t think Stiles was this tiny back then.”

“I am _not_ tiny! I’m 4!” Stiles exclaims while pouting angrily at Scott. Derek doesn’t think it’s the cutest thing ever. He doesn’t.

“Aww he’s so cute!” Allison coos, causing Stiles to blush and hide his face in Derek’s chest.

“Adorable.” Isaac drawls out with sarcasm dripping from his voice. Malia smacks him upside the head.

“Oh stop whining. You’re just jealous because Stiles is getting more attention from both your girlfriend and boyfriend than you are. He’s a cutie pie and you know it.” She declares as Isaac rubs his head begrudgingly.

“Alright, this was fun and all,” Lydia announces, “but now what? How are we supposed to take care of a toddler? And what are we going to do to get Stiles back to normal?”

“How about he stays with me?” Scott suggests, “We have an extra bedroom he could use and mom already knows how to deal with Stiles at around this age so it can’t be too hard” Scott turns his attention to Stiles, “What you say little dude, wanna stay at my place for a bit?”

“No. Want Dewek.” Stiles says as he tightens his grip on the werewolf.

“You can’t stay with Derek. Derek has to leave.” Right. He was supposed to help find Stiles and then he would be off to his life again. Derek wasn’t supposed to stay. He didn’t _want_ to stay. But… Stiles was so vulnerable right now, Derek really didn’t want to just leave him in such a defenseless state like this.

“No. Dewek no leaving, Dewek is staying. Right, Dewek?” Stiles asks with huge doe eyes staring at him expectantly. Have Stiles’ eyes always been that big?

“Right.” Derek finds himself saying. Where the fuck did that come from?

The smile that appears on Stiles’ face at Derek’s agreement is blinding.

The werewolf can’t help but feel a bit smug at the look of complete betrayal plastered on Scott’s face. Then again, Scott doesn’t know when it’s time to give up.

“Well, that- that doesn’t matter anyway. I’m the alpha, which means you’re under my care and Derek isn’t even part of the pack anymore!” Derek nearly flinches at Scott’s words. It’s not like he doesn’t want to be part of a pack, he just doesn’t want to be around people that clearly don’t give a shit about him. That’s not what pack is. None of them seem to get that.

“I don’t care! I want to be with Dewek not you!! And why do you call yourself alpha? Alphas are leaders of wolfie packs and you are not a wolfie! Plus alphas are supposed to be smart and strong, you’re just a big meanie!!” Stiles announces as he glares at Scott.

“Just drop it, Scott.” Derek growls, “If Stiles wants to stay with me, it's fine. Let him do what he wants, I don’t mind looking after him for a bit."

“You won’t mind looking after him for a bit? What the fuck do you think this is Derek?! Stiles is a toddler and we have no idea how to turn him back! Do you not see the gravity of the situation!?” Scott growls.

Derek flashes his eyes and bares his teeth in a sub vocal growl that only the weres in the room would be able to hear as he possessively holds Stiles to his chest.

Is Scott really this stupid? Derek wants Stiles back to normal too! But right now Stiles is 4 years old and he’s confused and surrounded by people he doesn’t know, if he feels more comfortable staying with Derek then he should stay with him. There’s no reason for Scott to be so upset. They have to do what’s best for Stiles.

“Don’t yell at my Dewek!!”

“What’s so great about Derek anyway?” Scott sneers while throwing a hateful glance in the former alpha’s direction.

“He feels like mine.” the boy proclaims while nuzzling Derek’s neck.

Well that was unexpected.

Scott’s jaw goes slack for a split second before his face morphs into one of rage. However, Lydia cuts him off before he can get a word out.

“Alright, I’ve had enough of your pissing contest. Calm the fuck down Scott, it’s not like Derek is going to hurt Stiles in any way. Besides, we’ve wasted enough time as it is, we need to get Stiles to Deaton’s and figure out how to reverse whatever this is.” She announced curtly before turning on her heels and strutting out of the loft.

“She’s right.” Allison commented as she placed a delicate hand on Scott’s shoulder, “We should take Stiles to Deaton, if anyone knows how to reverse this, it’s him. Also, you should let Stiles stay with Derek. He obviously trusts Derek the most right now, we shouldn’t force him to stay where he doesn’t feel safe."

Scott frowns at the idea of Derek taking care of a miniature Stiles, but does nothing more than sigh as he swiftly exits the loft with both Allison and Isaac trailing behind him. Liam glances apologetically at Stiles before leaving shortly after with a confident Malia and a confused Kira following a second later.

“Dewek can I ask you something?” Stiles says as he and Derek make their way towards the Camaro. Derek nods, “Are all of you werewolfies? Or is it just Scott and you?”

The freezes.

“What are you talking about?” He asks cautiously. Maybe Stiles is talking about something completely different.

“You and Scott. You’re both werewolfies right? Was everyone else in that room a werewolfie or is it just you two?” He explained while looking up at Derek curiously.

“How did- you know what, never mind. To answer your question, no, we’re not all werewolves. Lydia is a banshee, Kira is a kitsune, Allison is a hunter, and Malia is a werecoyote. But Isaac and Liam are werewolves like me and Scott.”

“Cool!”

Derek glances down at the boy smiling brightly in his arms, “You’re not scared?”

“Nope. Wolfies aren’t scary. Mommy used to work with wolfies before she got sick. Mommy said that wolfies are predators not killers. So, why should I be scared of wolfies?”

Derek doesn’t know what to say to that, so, they drive over to the clinic in silence with only Stiles’ humming and occasional babbling to distract from it.

The werewolf made sure to keep an eye on Stiles as they walked inside the clinic. Luckily, the boy stayed by his side without much prompting from Derek. It was clear that the others had already informed Deaton of Stiles’ condition judging from the lack of surprise the vet showed upon Stiles and Derek’s arrival.

“Set him on the examination desk. I’ll need to run some tests on him to determine how to reverse it.” Deaton stated in his usual stoic voice.

Stiles was fidgety throughout Deaton’s examination but was otherwise very compliant with what the vet asked him to do. Until Deaton grabbed a needle.

The toddler immediately tensed and started shaking his head furiously while moving away from the object.

“You may feel a slight pinch.” The druid comments while getting closer to Stiles despite the boy’s obvious discomfort.

Derek growls, “Is this really necessary? You’ve done enough tests on him, do you honestly need a sample of his blood as well?” He asks skeptically as he watches the little boy’s quivering frame in worry. He knew that Stiles didn’t like needles but he never imagined it was this bad. The kid looks like he has an actual phobia.

“I still don’t know how the witch was able to de-age Stiles. She could have used a spell that changes his genetics in order to reverse the aging process. If that’s the case then it opens a number of problems that we might face when we managed to get Stiles back to normal. DNA is very sensitive to work with, especially when magic is involved, one wrong move on our part and Stiles could become permanently disabled. So, yes, this is really necessary.” Deaton explains before inching closer to Stiles’ small frame.

Derek growls once more but doesn’t move to stop the druid. He does however, place his hand on Stiles’ back comfortingly and prepares to take the 4 year old’s pain away the second the needle makes contact with his skin.

Stiles whimpers when the needle gets close to his arm but the sharp object never gets any closer and instead shatters into a million tiny pieces. The entire pack gasp and look around the room frantically, searching for a sign to indicate someone else was watching. Preferably the witch.

Derek instantly scoops the boy up into his arms in order to avoid him getting cut by the broken glass on the table as well as comfort the still terrified boy. Stiles was trembling in fear in his arms and his heart rate was way too high for Derek’s liking, it broke Derek’s heart to see him like this.

Deaton, however, was just staring at the broken shards of the needle curiously.

“Interesting...” Deaton murmured, gaining the attention of everyone else in the room.

“What’s interesting?” Kira questioned.

“I didn’t expect for the witch to notice Stiles’ spark so soon. She must be more powerful than I originally thought.” the druid explained as he stared at Stiles critically, causing the boy to feel unsettled.

“What do you mean she noticed ‘Stiles’ spark’?!” Liam spoke while failing at keeping the growl from his voice.

“I’ve mentioned it before. A spark is someone with immense magical potential tied to their core, their magical abilities vary on the size of the individual’s inner spark but generally have the potential to do nearly anything as long as both their magic and imagination allow them.” Deaton said while started to clean up the broken shards of the needle from the examination table.

“However, since Stiles never knew about the supernatural world until his teen years his spark was ignored and therefore he was unable to do magical acts even though he had to power to accomplish them because he failed to believe in his own abilities. The witch must have sensed his spark and decided to take him in as an apprentice of sorts, but, since his spark was so deeply hidden the only way to reawaken his magical abilities was to take him back to a time when he believed that anything was possible, in this case, his toddler years.” Deaton elucidated while throwing a glance at the small toddler wrapped in Derek’s arms.

“Since there is only one possible way to safely de-age a spark without extinguishing his spark completely, it is safe to say that the witch did not do anything to Stiles’ genetics and he should be perfectly fine once he turns back to normal. The spell she used is extremely complicated and magically draining, since she is a lone witch and belongs to no coven it should render her nearly completely helpless. Especially since the more distance there is between the spell caster and their target the harder is it to keep the spell active. She’ll eventually become magically exhausted and stop casting the spell, which in turn would turn Stiles back to normal and render her defenseless against you if you chose to attack.”

“So that’s it? You want us to just wait this out?” Scott sneers, “We’re supposed to be going to college in a month! What if he’s still a kid by then?!”

“I assure you, Scott, there is no way that the witch would be able to maintain a spell this powerful for that long without a coven to help her. Stiles should be back to normal in a week.”

 

* * *

 

Derek was doing surprisingly well taking care of little Stiles. It’s been 2 days since he found the young boy in the woods and it’s been surprisingly easy to manage the hyperactive toddler so far.

Stiles loves puzzles and coloring books so he spends most of his time alternating between the two and occasionally watching TV whenever Batman cartoons are involved. Derek doesn’t see why the kid is so obsessed with Batman, Superman is so much better.

Other than the kid’s bad taste in superheroes, Stiles is actually extremely adorable. The fact that he keeps calling him ‘Dewek’ no matter how many times Derek tries to teach him how to pronounce his name correctly is enough proof as it is. It’s unbelievably cute, no matter how many times Derek pretends to be annoyed by it.

Of course, Stiles would ask about his parents all the time. Asking Derek if he could see his mom or wondering where his dad was. It pained Derek to lie to him but it’s not like he could say ‘your mom is dead and your dad is in the other side of the state.'

Derek was cleaning the kitchen while Stiles was occupied with trying to solve a puzzle when the sheriff burst through the door.

“Where is he?! Where is my son!?!”

“Tata!!” Stiles squealed as he ran over to his father and hugged the man’s leg like his life depended on it.

The sheriff just stood completely still as he watched a 4 year old version of his son cling to his leg. After a moment of stunned silence the sheriff kneeled down and pulled his son into a crushing hug, causing the boy to giggle.

“Hey, kiddo. How you doing?” The sheriff asked cautiously when he pulled back from the hug.

“Good! Dewek is super nice and cool and awesome and he makes yummy food and plays with me and puts my drawings on the fridge!!! Look!” Stiles rambled as he dragged his father to the kitchen, “Look tata! I drew a dinosaur! And a flower! And this one is a wolfie! Like Dewek!! Did you know Dewek was a wolfie tata? And Scott, and Isaac, and Liam too!! But Dewek is the coolest wolfie! He’s the bestest!!”

“I can see that. Hey, why don’t you go make another one of your amazing drawings for us? I think this fridge needs another masterpiece.” Sheriff Stilinski suggests.

Stiles is running off in search of his coloring supplies before the man could finish his sentence.

The second Stiles was out of hearing range the sheriff turned his attention to Derek, “Why is my son 5?”

“He’s 4 actually.” Derek corrects. The sheriff doesn’t seem amused.

“A witch cast a spell on him in order to reawaken his magical abilities.” Derek can tell that the sheriff wants to ask questions but rethinks the decision and remains quiet.

“And when will my son return back to his 18 year old self?” The older man asks tiredly.

“In about a week or so.” The sheriff nods and heaves a long suffering sigh.

He rubs his hand over his face before looking at Derek once more, “Alright I guess I can deal with a 4 year old Stiles for a week. I’ll take him off your hands.”

Derek shakes his head, “With all due respect, sir, you aren’t capable of taking care of Stiles for a week.”

“What?!” Sheriff Stilinski shouts as his face turns murderous, “I am his father! Of course I’m able to take care of my son! I have been for the past 18 years!”

“Please don’t take it personally. I’m just saying that with your vigorous schedule as the sheriff you don’t have enough time to take care of Stiles. Plus now he has magical abilities which you don’t know how to deal with. I do. So, I think it will be best for Stiles if he stays here with me until he the spell wears off. I know you’re his father and you care about him but right now you need to think about what is best for Stiles.” the werewolf explains.

He can see when the sheriff realizes that what Derek is saying is right as all the fight leaves the man’s body. Before either can break the silence that has fallen between them, Stiles comes running into the kitchen.

“Tata! Tata! Look I made a get well soon card for mommy! I drew a birdie and everything b‘cause I know she likes birdies! And I made the birdie wed b’cause it’s mommy’s favorite!” Stiles exclaims while showing the card proudly, “Can I give it to mommy today? Do you think she’ll feel better when she sees it?”

The sheriff forces a smile, but his eyes are significantly more glassy than they were just a few seconds ago.

“That’s- that’s great kiddo. I’m sure she’ll love it, but, you can’t see her today. She’s… not feeling up to it.”

Stiles visibly deflates, “Oh… okay… can you… can you give it to her for me? Please?”

“Yeah, kiddo, I’ll give it to her. Why don’t you stay with Derek for a few days? I’m really busy with work and mommy can’t take care of you, so, you should stay here until things calm down at the station. Okay bud?”

“Okay.” Stiles says with a sad smile, “Bye tata.”

“Bye kiddo.” Sheriff Stilinski replies while ruffling Stiles’ hair affectionately, “Love you.”

Stiles looks up at his father in surprise, as if he wasn’t expecting his father to say that before muttering, “Love you too tata.”

The sheriff takes Stiles’ card in his hands and leaves the loft.

A second after the door to the loft closes Derek feels the boy cling to his leg as little sniffles cut through the silence of the loft.

“Hey,” Derek soothes as he crouches down to the boy’s level, “What’s wrong pup?”

Instead of answering, Stiles simply wraps his arms around the werewolf’s neck and nuzzles into him. Derek feels incredibly stupid. Of course Stiles wanted to stay with his dad, it was his _dad_. Still, Derek can’t help get the feeling that Stiles’ behavior isn’t purely because of his dad leaving. But if the kid didn’t want to talk about it, then Derek wasn’t going to force him.

Derek scooped Stiles into his arms and walked toward the couch before logging into Cora’s Netflix account and putting on season 1 episode 1 of Young Justice as Stiles cuddled up against his side.

The werewolf had never seen the show before but Stiles talks about it enough to know the kid absolutely loves it.

Halfway through the first season, Stiles finally speaks up.

“Am I bad?” The little boy whispers. If it wasn’t for Derek’s enhanced hearing the werewolf probably wouldn’t have heard it.

The werewolf looks down at the boy curled up against his side. Stiles wasn’t sniffling anymore, and his eyes don’t appear as glassy as they were, but, he’s still glued to Derek’s side with his little fingers holding the fabric of his shirt tightly.

“Of course not. Why would you think something like that?” Derek asked gently as he combed his fingers through Stiles’ hair.

Stiles shrugs and somehow manages to move even closer to Derek.

Two more episodes pass before Stiles speaks again.

“I made tata sad…”

“You didn’t make him sad, pup, he’s just… worried about your mom is all.” Derek soothed.

The toddler looks up at him with tear-filled honey brown orbs, “When can I see mommy?”

“When… when she feels better.” the werewolf hesitated. He really hopes the spell wears off soon, it's absolute torture to lie to Stiles like this.

Stiles sighs softly and goes back to cuddling Derek’s side. A few seconds later Derek hears a muffled noise that sounds suspiciously like “what if she never gets better”

Derek pretends not to hear it and just pulls the boy closer to him.

 

* * *

 

Contrary to popular belief Derek did sleep at night. He liked sleeping. He enjoyed it very much. Derek could even go as far as saying that it was his favorite thing to do aside from shifting into his wolf form. So, when he randomly woke up in the middle of the night, he was more than a little confused.

Derek was about to just shrug it off and continue sleeping when he felt something tugging on his blanket. He looked down the side of the bed to find Stiles’ big doe eyes staring at him. So that’s what woke him up.

“What’re you doin’ pup?” Derek grumbles as he tries to think with his sleep induced brain.

Stiles visibly shrinks into himself as he fidgets nervously, “I, um, I… I had a bad dream...”

Fucking shit.

Derek sighs heavily before picking up the toddler from the floor and placing him on the bed. Not a second later Derek finds himself lying on his back staring at the ceiling of his bedroom with Stiles snuggling into his chest while he pets the boy’s hair.

“Wanna talk about it?” He asks quietly as he looks down at the toddler in his arms. Stiles’ breaths are long and even but he knows the boy isn’t asleep yet.

When a few minutes pass without so much as a sound from Stiles, Derek was convinced that the kid wasn’t going to talk. But of course, Stiles was just full of surprises.

“It was scawy. I was heawing weird voices in my head and I didn’t know if I was dreaming then I hurt Scott but I was bigger and I didn’t want to but I couldn’t stop it and then I was here and you and tata were there too and Allison was there and so was another man and there was a gun and I didn’t want the man to shoot me but then you attacked me and I hurt you and I didn’t want to hurt you! I screamed but no one heard me and I said sorry and I asked you to forgive me but you didn’t hear me either and- and- and” by then hiccupping sobs wretched through Stiles’ tiny frame as the boy clung onto him like his life depended on it.

“Shh it’s okay. It’s okay, Stiles, it’s over now. It’s okay.” Derek coos in an effort to calm the hysterical child.

“I’m sorry!” Stiles whimpers, “I’m sorry Dewek. I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine, pup, there’s nothing for you to be sorry about.” The werewolf soothes as he continues to hold the sobbing boy.

Shit, Stiles is talking about what happened while he was possessed by the nogitsune! In the form of nightmares!! How the hell is he supposed to handle this situation?! He can’t just tell Stiles that his nightmares are real. That would scare him to death. But… he can’t really say that they’re just dreams can he? Derek has already lied to Stiles enough times in the span of just two short days to lie to him again. It doesn’t matter if the kid could hear his heartbeat or not, it was breaking Derek’s heart to lie to him so frequently.

“But I h-hurt you Dewek! I hurt you and I’m so so so sorry!!” The small boy wailed frantically with his face buried into Derek’s chest.

“Stiles. Stiles, look at me.” Derek requested softly as he lifted the boy’s chin up until their eyes met, “I’m fine. You didn’t hurt me, Stiles. Besides, you said you didn’t want to hurt anyone in your dream right? That you had no control over what you did?” Stiles nods slowly, “Then you don’t have to feel guilty about it, you didn’t hurt anyone, the monster that was controlling your body did… and in any case, even if you ever did hurt me, I would have forgiven you in an instant.” The werewolf assures as he wipes away the silent tears running down the boy’s face.

“Now go to sleep, pup.” Derek states while he lays his head down on the pillow once more.

He was unbelievably tired from taking care of a hyperactive spark the entire day. Maybe he’ll ask the others to watch him for a bit tomorrow so he won’t have to be on high alert all the time. He should probably get some shopping done too.

As Derek’s eyelids slowly droped from exhaustion he felt Stiles’ small frame snuggle into his chest. Without noticing his own actions Derek placed his hand protectively on the small of Stiles’ back before drifting into a peaceful sleep.

 

* * *

  

Derek woke up to the sensation of sunlight hitting his face and an unknown weight resting on his chest.

He drowsily blinked his eyes open and felt his lips start to curl upward when he saw a little sleeping Stiles starfished on his chest.

The werewolf tries to slowly sit up without disturbing the resting toddler but stops moving immediately once Stiles tiredly opens his eyes and blinks at him owlishly. Who knew the kid was such a light sleeper.

“Hey, pup, sleep well?” Derek said softly as he combed his fingers through the boy’s messy brown hair.

Stiles grumbled unhappily and curled back into Derek’s chest.

Derek chuckled at Stiles’ behavior and went to remove the toddler from his chest to let him sleep on the bed for a bit longer which only caused the young spark to groan in irritation and latch onto his shirt. Of course Stiles is the type to be clingy in the morning.

“Stiles. If you don’t let me go then you can’t keep sleeping, I need to make breakfast.”

“Don’t care, comfy and warm.” Stiles said sleepily as he nuzzled into Derek’s neck.

The werewolf sighs before getting up and heading to the kitchen with a half sleeping Stiles in his arms. The kid spends a surprising amount of time being carried for someone who normally can’t keep still for more than a few seconds.

He sends a text to everyone in the pack telling them to come to the loft before he started making breakfast with Stiles clinging to him sleepily.

Within the span of 30 minutes everyone in the pack was eating breakfast in the loft and Stiles was fully awake and practically jumping off the walls. Derek wanted sleepy Stiles back.

“Dewek! Guess what!”

“What is it Stiles?” Derek says from where he was previously trying to enjoy his breakfast.

“Today’s the Summer Solstice!! It’s the longest day of the whole year!” Stiles exclaimed while smiling brightly.

“That’s great pup.” The werewolf said as he finished up eating his breakfast and started to get his things. He has to go into town and get some more groceries. And maybe some new toys for Stiles to play with.

Stiles’ smile turns into a slight frown, “Where are you going?”

“I’m just going to get some things from the store. I’ll be right back.” Derek explains as he grabs the keys to the Camaro.

“I’ll go with you!”

“No!” Derek shouts, causing Stiles to flinch back.

Shit.

“I mean- it’s just… there’s a lot of things I have to do today and it’s going to be very boring for you if you come with me. Besides, you haven’t spent much time with everyone and they all want to play with you today.”

Stiles can’t go with him into town. The kid can’t control his powers and they usually have to do with his emotions. Heaven forbid the kid gets bored and makes random objects fly around the room to entertain him. Derek still doesn’t know how the kid can make the couch fly but can’t get on a chair without help.

“Oh… okay…” Stiles says dejectedly.

Great, now he wants to kick himself in the balls for making Stiles upset.

Derek crouches down to the boy’s level and tilts his head up so that Stiles was looking him in the eyes, “It’s not because I don’t want to be with you, Stiles. I always want you around, but, everyone else wants to spend time with you too, pup. I can’t keep you all to myself. Now, how about you play a game with everyone for a little bit and I’ll be back before you know it, sound good?”

Stiles smiled shyly at him as he nods his head in agreement. Then, he leans in and kisses Derek’s nose.

“Bye Dewek!! Love you!” Stiles says happily with a dazzling smile on his face.

Derek is shocked speechless for a moment before a small smile makes it’s way onto his face, “Love you too, Stiles.”

With that he ruffles Stiles’ hair, causing a joyous giggle to erupt from the toddler, and leaves the loft.

Derek pointedly ignores all the smug looks the pack throws his way.

 

* * *

 

When Derek returned to the loft a few hours after he left to go grocery shopping he nearly dropped everything he was carrying on the floor.

In the living room of the loft was the pack all gathered around in a circle wearing _flower crowns_. Literal flower crowns… with real flowers!

How did they even do that? Derek lived on the top floor where the hell did they get real flowers?!

“Dewek!” Stiles exclaimed as he ran to the werewolf.

Derek set all the bags down and lifted Stiles into his arms when the kid pounced on him.

“Dewek you came back!” Stiles said as he nuzzled into his neck.

Derek chuckled, “I told you I would, pup.”

The smile Stiles sends him is enough to make Derek grin a small smile of his own.

Then the kid wiggled out of his arms and started tugging him where the pack was sitting in the living room.

“Look Dewek! I was drawing flowers and then they came to life and then everyone helped me make flower crowns! Look!”

So that's where they got the flowers.

“That's great, Stiles. They're very pretty.” Derek said as he smiled down at the little boy.

The pup absolutely beamed and dammit if that made Derek's heart melt.

Then the boy raced behind Lydia and grabbed something before running back to Derek as he hid whatever it was he got behind his back.

He tells Derek to get closer to which the werewolf quickly obeys. Then the pup places a blue flower crown on his head.

Derek blinked. Stiles made him a flower crown. That's… actually really sweet.

Stiles then runs over to Scott who is holding a flower crown nearly identical to the one on Derek's head and puts it on Stiles.

“There,” the kid says smiling up at Derek, “now we match!”

Derek can't stop the grin that appears on his face. Stiles is the most adorable thing ever.

It isn't until he sees Stiles blush and the entire room go ‘aww’ that he realizes that he had said that out loud.

Shit.

“I think you're adorable too Dewek!” The hyperactive boy says.

God, how is this his life?

Throughout the rest of the day the pack spend their time playing with the small spark. Derek's never seen all of them so relaxed. It feels surreal in a way, like this is all an amazing dream that will end once he wakes up and he'll be back to living his life in New York in search for his only living relative. It might be selfish but Derek doesn't want to let this go. Maybe he can have this, a pack, for a little while longer.

It's late evening when Derek finally remembers. They're all sprawled out in the living room watching a Batman movie -per Stiles’ request- when he suddenly realizes that it's the full moon.

Derek instantly panics. It's not like he can't control himself or anything but ever since he first shifted into his full wolf he's been unable to remain human on the full moon. He's still conscious of his surrounding and can control his wolf perfectly fine but he can't shift out of his wolf form until after the full moon is no longer in the sky.

It hasn't really bothered him. Derek actually likes spending time in his wolf form during full moons, but, Stiles is _4_! It's one thing to say he isn't afraid of wolves when he sees a complete human person in front of him and another to see a huge black wolf with blue eyes and teeth sharp enough to kill him in seconds staring at him.

But the moon is already rising and Derek can feel the itch under his skin. It's too late, he's going to shift full wolf in front of Stiles and the little spark will get scared and he’ll refuse to be near Derek again and it’s so fucking stupid how much Derek doesn’t want that to happen.

But it’s too late. The shift already started and within a few more seconds Derek will be fully shifted. He can feel the stretch of his skin turning into fur and the pull of his bones as they contort into completely different shapes. Derek can feel the electric blue color bleeding from his eyes and he knows that when he opens his eyes he’ll be a wolf and Stiles will scream and cry and run away from him in fear.

Only the shouts never come. The room is deadly quiet but the horrid scent of fear isn’t penetrating the room. It isn’t until he feels tiny fingers touch his fur that Derek opens his eyes to find Stiles looking at him with those huge doe eyes of his in utter amazement.

“You’re so pretty.”

Derek doesn’t know what to do. He was expecting Stiles to scream and run for the hills, instead, the kid is looking at him with eyes filled with curiosity and wonder as he gently pets his fur. He’s at a complete loss of what to do right now.

Looks like he’s not the only one that’s confused about Stiles’ behavior if the bewildered looks from the pack is anything to go by.

Scott is the first one to break the silence, “Stiles? Buddy? What are you doing?”

“Petting Dewek.” Stiles says while giving Scott the most judgemental look Derek has ever seen on a toddler.

“And you’re not scared?” Allison asks cautiously.

The kid looks at her in confusion, “No, why would I?”

“Because he’s a beast that has claws the size of your face and teeth that can snap your puny neck in milliseconds.” Isaac informs unhelpfully. Derek growls. He’s doing this on purpose!

“He’s not a beast he’s Dewek! And he won’t hurt me. Plus he looks just like Talz!!”

“Who’s Talz?” Kira said curiously.

Stiles beams at her before saying, “Talz is the best! She’s a wolfie and she’s completely black just like Dewek but her eyes are wed not blue. Mommy says she lives in the woods with her pack but I got to keep it a secret because wolfies don’t live in California and she’s really nice and lets me pet her and play with her and she’s just the coolest!”

Lydia smirks, “Looks like you have some competition for the title of Stiles’ favorite wolf Derek.”

Derek simply rolls his eyes but Stiles practically pounces on him with a screech.

“No!! Talz is amazing but Dewek is the bestest wolfie ever! She’s cool and nice but Dewek is _mine_! My Dewek.” Stiles exclaims while aggressively snuggling into the wolf’s fur. Derek wishes he could say he’s annoyed by it but in all honestly he fucking loves it.

“What? I thought _I_ was your favorite wolf!” Scott sputters out.

Stiles doesn’t even glance in his direction as he says, “Not even close.” causing the room to erupt in a symphony of laughter.

It felt nice, being surrounded by the pack in such a carefree and  lighthearted environment. Derek had only ever spent time with them when something was trying to kill them. He wished it would have been like this from the beginning. If he’d only tried to get to know his betas when he was still an alpha maybe this wouldn’t have ended the way they did.

He can’t guarantee that Boyd and Erica would have survived because there is no telling if they would have or not, but, maybe Isaac would have stayed with him instead of running after Scott once he got the chance.

He doesn’t blame the young wolf for joining Scott’s pack but he’d be lying if he said the action didn’t hurt him. Isaac was his first beta, which in turn, made him the most closely connected to Derek. Derek wasn’t making them do all that training because he wanted to be an ass; he just didn’t want them to die for something as stupid as not being prepared. Look where that got him.

In a few days when Stiles goes back to normal, he’ll be forced to go back to New York in search of Cora and the pack won’t come looking for him ever again. He won’t see any of them again… won’t see Stiles again… and he wishes the thought didn’t make him want to whine.

Instead, he just lies down and lets the young spark pet and cuddle him to his little heart’s content as the smell of pack washes over him.

He’s going to seriously regret this once the spell wears off of Stiles, but for now, he’ll let himself have this. Just this once.

 

* * *

 

It’s been a little over a week since Derek found Stiles in the preserve and he’s still a toddler. It’s not like Derek doesn’t enjoy spending time with the child but the spell should have worn off by now and Derek is getting worried.

Deaton said that the witch wasn’t part of a coven and a spell this powerful would rinder her defenceless after a week, but, maybe she was part of a coven and they simply didn’t know about it? What if all this witches are switching places in casting the spell on Stiles and the spark never changes back to his sarcastic and awkward self?

Scott is also becoming more anxious the longer Stiles remains in this state, though, that’s probably due more with the fact that Stiles clearly favors Derek over him in this form than anything else.

Not to mention the longer Stiles stays like this the more chances someone in the pack has of figuring out they’re mates. The little spark has been extremely possessive of the werewolf calling him things like ‘his’ any chance he can get and the pack has just marked it off as regular child possessiveness that all little kids experience around this age.

However, it’s only a matter of time when someone -probably Lydia- realizes that this goes beyond toddler possessiveness. Derek has felt the mate bond towards Stiles from the moment he saw the kid with Scott in the preserve, but, Stiles was human so he didn’t feel the bond between them making it easy for Derek to ignore it and push the teen away.

Now… now Stiles can feel it because of his spark and Derek doesn’t know what he’s going to do. He made sure to treat the kid as cruelly as he could manage to prevent either of them from getting attached to each other.

Then through the years Stiles and him have managed to build a sort of friendly-ish relationship and Derek found himself actually enjoying the hyperactive teen’s company.

Not to mention the time Derek was de-aged to his teenage self and he felt the bond toward the awkward teen. Derek was so confused back then, with his memories of a gorgeous Kate stuck in his mind but the certainty of the mate bond towards Stiles made him more frustrated than anything else, causing him to slam the kid into walls yet again.

It’s amazing really, all the things Derek has done to hurt Stiles and create distance between them, yet… the teen still cared enough to save his ass more than a handful of times. The kid was loyal to a fault Derek will give him that.

When Stiles and Malia started dating Derek wanted to rip her to shreds. Stiles was _his_ mate, not hers! But… he couldn’t say that… and it wouldn’t be fair to Stiles, Derek has slept around with numerous women since finding out he and Stiles are mates and getting jealous just because the kid got a girlfriend isn’t something Derek is entitled of.

Still, watching Malia and Stiles be together was torture to him. No matter how much Derek tried to push the kid away he was still his mate and his wolf whined at the sight of him with other people.

Derek shook his head before he could get lost in his thoughts. It doesn’t matter that Stiles feels the mate bond, that doesn’t change anything, he’ll still leave to New York the second the kid goes back to normal and everything will be like it always was. Stiles doesn’t need to get sucked into the black vortex that is his life, he deserves a chance at happiness without Derek there to mess it up.

After a few minutes dinner is finally finished and Derek calls Stiles to the dinner table. The kid quickly gets up from where he was previously trying to finish a puzzle and runs to the kitchen.

“Mac ‘n’ cheese?” Stiles asks with a hopeful expression on his face.

“No, you had mac and cheese last night. This is coconut shrimp.” Derek explained as he set the plates and helped Stiles into the chair.

Stiles scrunches his face up when he sees the plate set in front of him and shakes his head, “Don’t want it.”

Derek sighed. He doesn’t have time for this. “Stiles. Just eat it. You’ll love it, I promise.”

“No. Not good.” Stiles said stubbornly.

Why does this have to happen today of all days?

“Stiles, I’m not playing around just eat your food.”

“Can’t. It’s bad!”

Derek holds back a growl, “How do you know it’s bad if you don’t try it?”

“Shrimp is bad Dewek! I can’t eat it.” The young child insists.

This time Derek can't keep the growl from his voice, “Just eat the damn food, Stiles!”

“I don't want to!!”

That's it! Derek can't take this shit anymore, he's spent the last few days having Scott yell and whine about why the spell hasn't worn off and frankly he's not ready to deal with Stiles right now. He's agitated and frustrated and he's had a headache all day, why can't Stiles just shut up and do what he's told for once!?

“Oh yeah? Well too fucking bad! Do you think I _want_ to be here and take care of a bratty little kid? Because I don't! I was _forced_ to he here, if I had what I wanted I would be in New York right now and you'd still be crying yourself to sleep in the woods waiting for someone to save your useless whiny self! So stop making my life a living hell and eat your fucking food you spoiled little brat!!”

“I KNEW IT!” stiles screams.

“You knew what Stiles? What could you have possibly known? Please enlighten me!” Derek sneers at the boy.

“I knew no one could ever love me! Not even mommy loves me!!” Stiles screeches before running up the stairs.

Derek winces when he hears the door slam. Shit.

The werewolf runs a hand over his face tiredly. He fucked up.

After a few minutes of contemplating what to do Derek gets his phone and calls Scott. He's known Stiles the longest so he should have an idea of how to deal with this.

“Derek?”

“Hey, Scott” Derek says while trying to ease his headache.

“What's wrong?” Scott asks worriedly.

Derek sighs and explains everything that happened between him and Stiles. Silence greets him once he finished his explaining the situation.

“That's… Not like Stiles at all. He usually eats whatever you put in front of him. What did you make?”

“Coconut shrimp.”

“Derek.”

The lack of emotion in Scott's voice gets the former alpha's attention. He's never heard Scott speak like that to anyone before.

“Stiles is allergic to shrimp.”

“Fuck.”

Derek hang up on Scott and runs up stairs to the bathroom where he heard Stiles slam the door. Only... he doesn't hear Stiles’ heartbeat on the other side.

“Stiles! Stiles are you in there? Stiles open the door, please! Stiles!?” Derek shouts, growing more anxious the longer he doesn't get a response. He tries to open the door. Locked.

He kicks the door open. Stiles isn't there. Shit! Derek searches the entire loft but can't find Stiles anywhere. Where is he?!

He tries to pinpoint Stiles’ scent but the loft is so utterly consumed by both his and Stiles’ scent that he can't find a fresh trail. Stiles could be anywhere right now.

Derek runs out if the loft in search of the spark. Stiles wouldn't want to be near people right now, if Derek has learned anything about Stiles over the years is that the kid hates it when people see him upset. So, Derek's best bet is that the spark is in an isolated place where no is there to see him.

There werewolf runs into the preserve. He could be wrong but it's the best place he can come up with.

“Stiles!!” He yells once he knows he's far enough from the town to prevent people from hearing him. “Stiles where are you?! Stiles!!!”

He catches a whiff of the spark's scent and he chases after it. It's faint but strong enough to help him know where the kid went.

“Come on pup say something!”

He's such a fucking idiot. Stiles has been unbelievably well behaved the entire time he's been with Derek. Sure he's hyper and talks a mile a minute but it's not like he can help it. Not only that but he's _4_! He's a little 4 year old child that hasn't seen his mother or his father in over a week and has been living with practically a complete stranger surrounded by people he doesn't know and he hasn't had a single tantrum! If it was any other kid they would be screaming bloody murder by now.

But the second the kid starts getting a bit fussy Derek snaps at him. And it wasn't even that Stiles was being a brat, the kid had a legit reason to disobey Derek and the werewolf latches out at him.

He's the worst person in the world.

Before Derek could continue mentally beating himself, he hears a whimper.

He sprints in the direction of the sound and almost collapses in relief when he sees Stiles curled up against a tree near a river.

It looks like it's going to rain any minute and Derek doesn't know whether it's Stiles’ magic doing that or if it's just impeccable timing on mother nature's part.

“Stiles?” Derek says cautiously. He doesn't want to make Stiles run away again.

The kid just continued sniffling and ignored him.

Derek sighed and sat down next to the crying child, “I'm sorry.”

“I didn't mean it. You're not a brat Stiles and you certainly don't make my life a living hell. If anything these past few days have amazing because of you. I'm just frustrated because the spell should have worn off by now and everyone wants you to go back to your 18 year old self.”

Still no answer.

“I really am sorry, pup. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. None of this is your fault. I'm so sorry I hurt you. I… I never wanted to hurt you like that.”

“Are we friends?” Stiles finally said after a moment of silence.

“What?”

“Are you friends? When I'm 18. Are we… friends?”

“I…” Derek hesitates, “I guess we're something like that.”

Stiles sniffles again, “Then, does mommy ever get better?”

Derek wants to tell him yes. Wants to tell him that everything turns out fine. But he can't lie to Stiles. Not again. Not about this.

“... No”

Stiles sobs. The small sniffles turning into loud cries full of pain and sorrow.

Derek holds him. Let's the pup cling to him as sobs wreck through his tiny frame. It starts thundering.

Yeah. Definitely Stiles’ magic.

“Come on, let's get out of here before it starts raining.”

Stiles keeps crying but doesn't protest as Derek carries him to the loft.

When they get back Stiles’ sobs have died down into tiny sniffles once more. Derek lays them both down on the couch when it becomes clear that Stiles isn't going to be letting him go anytime soon.

They sit there in silence with only Stiles’ occasional sniffles and the thunder coming from outside to break it.

Derek rubs soothing circles on the boy's back. He doesn't know what else to do to make Stiles feel better. Well, there's nothing he can do. The kid just found out his mother dies. Nothing can fix that.

It takes him back to what Stiles said about his mom not loving him. From what the pup has been saying through this past week, his mom adores him. But then again, he's only talked about memories of his mom before she got sick.

Derek wonders if the 18 year old Stiles has all those memories of his mom. Considering they all happened when he was 3 years old, he probably doesn't.

The thought of that makes Derek's wolf whine.

Stiles most likely doesn't remember anything about his mom from before she was sick and yet even at 18 it's obvious the teen adored her.

He probably shouldn't be saying this but…

“Hey, Stiles?” Derek says with slight hesitation, he really shouldn't be doing this right now. “What… What makes you think your mom doesn't love you?”

Stiles looks up at him, teary eyes staring into his own hazel ones. He seems to be searching for something, for what, Derek has no idea.

“She's different. When she got sick she started acting different. She… Doesn't like looking at me. She stays in her room and doesn't let me come see her. And when I do she… She ignores me… Sometimes she yells at me. She's sick, so, it's okay. It's not her fault. She's sick… It's not… It's not her fault.”

Derek wipes away the single tear that silently falls down Stiles face. He can't imagine how Stiles must feel at being treated like that by his mom at such a young age. It would have destroyed Derek if something like that would have happened to his mom.

He doesn't know how to make Stiles feel better, so, he just holds him tightly against his chest.

Hopefully, it'll be enough.

 

* * *

 

Even a few days after he yelled at Stiles Derek felt like the worst person ever. He spent most of his time cuddling the toddler and doing anything he asks to somehow make up for what he did to the kid a few days ago.

Stiles loves the extra attention Derek is giving him and relishes whenever Derek initiates physical contact with him. He’s a lot more tactile than Derek originally thought.

The pack started noticing the change in Derek’s behavior as well. The werewolf has always been rather affectionate with the pup but he never initiated contact with the kid as much as he is now, especially with the pack around.

“Well aren’t you clingy today.” Lydia said as she eyed the way Derek coddled the little spark.

Derek growled at her. He knows that it’s weird for him to do these things with people but he feels guilty dammit! Leave him alone and let him apologize!!

“Dewek’s hugs are the bestest!” Stiles proclaims as he snuggles closer to the werewolf and sticks his tongue out at the pack.

Allison and Kira cooed, Malia and Lydia smirked, Isaac and Liam rolled their eyes, and Scott scrunched up his face in disgust.

Derek might have smirked in Scott’s direction. Maybe.

It’s been 2 weeks since Derek found Stiles and the pack has been spending more time at the loft as of late. Derek is knows they’re all nervously waiting for the day when Stiles will change back but whenever they’re all in the loft like this the anxiety leaves their bodies and they seem to genuinely like spending time with him. Well, obviously they like spending time with _Stiles_ but he doesn’t feel like someone they hang around with out of necessity anymore.

In times like this Derek actually feels like he’s part of the pack. And maybe he could be. Maybe after Stiles returns to normal then he could…

No.

Not going to happen.

They don’t want him around. They just put up with him to spend time with Stiles. Once this dumb spell wears off they won’t think twice about him leaving. None of them tried to stop him the first time he left, why would they now?

Besides, mate or not Stiles has his own life to live. One that doesn’t include him. He can’t hold him back. Stiles deserves to be happy.

“I don’t know about you guys but I’m bored.” Isaac says.

“We could watch a movie.” Allison suggests with a dimpled smile.

Liam shakes his head, “Nah, we’ve done that like every time we come to the loft. Let’s do something else.”

“Then what do you guys want to do?” Kira asks.

“We can build a fort!” Stiles says excitedly.

“Forts are stupid.” Isaac comments unhelpfully.

“No they’re not! Forts are awesome!!” Stiles exclaims as a slight pout makes it’s way to his lips.

Before Isaac could say anything else that might upset the pup Derek growls.

“We’re building a fort. If you don’t want to then you can leave but I don’t want your ass in my house if you’re going to be rude to Stiles.”

Isaac grumbles under his breathe but keeps his comments to himself from then on. Derek can see the spark smiling cheekily at the beta. Derek snorts, little shit.

In less than an hour they have a pretty decent fort built in the living room. Derek was worried they wouldn’t have enough blankets but it actually came out rather nicely. Then again that probably has more to do with Stiles meticulous instructions on how to build it more than anything else. The kid has the makings of a dictator.

“Allison, Lydia, Kira, and Malia you are all princesses from far away kingdoms visiting the castle. Scott and Liam are both lords from the kingdom coming in search of their future lovers. And Isaac is the servant, however, he has a crush on one of the lords and tries to hide his affections by being mean.”

“Hey!” Isaac yells as everyone bursts into fits of laughter at Stiles’ explanation.

“Then what are you and Derek supposed to be?” Scott asks curiously.

Stiles rolls his eyes, “Dewek is the king and I’m his husband.” he says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Derek feels himself blush slightly at the proclamation. It reminds him of when Stiles was possessed by the nogitsune and labeled him as the king. He still doesn't know why the teenager did that.

Everyone laughs it off and they begin the game. It was actually rather entertaining to watch everyone play their parts. Especially since Stiles has to remind Malia that ‘humans are friends not food’ whenever she growled at someone.

Isaac seemed to be having fun as well despite his reluctance. It was no surprise that he picked Scott as the lord that he had a secret crush on but he played the part rather well and even got an applause from Stiles.

The rest of the day passed in a cacophony of laughter and playful banter.

They played other games as well when they got bored of acting like English royalty, such as flight school. It was a fun game that consisted of making a paper airplane land in a specific spot.

Needless to say Stiles won every time. The little cheater was using his magic to ensure the plane landed on the target every single time.

After a while the pack began to setting down. It was nightfall and they'd all just finished eating.

Scott, Allison, and Isaac were all sprawled out on top of each other on the couch while Malia and Kira cuddled on the floor. Lydia had left a few moments ago after declaring that we've all been blessed with her fabulous presence and Liam needed to go back home before his parents could get worried.

Stiles was currently resting on his chest as everyone watched Marida.

The boy babbled throughout the movie until he couldn't finish a single sentence without yawning.

The rest of the pack had all went home by then so it was just the two of them in the living room.

Derek glanced at the clock. It was almost 11, Stiles should have been in bed a long time ago.

“Come on, pup, time for bed.”

“But I'm not sleepy.” Stiles said as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Derek chuckles, “Yes, you are.”

“No I'm not.” The pup mumbles before sleepily snuggling against Derek.

The werewolf settles them both into bed, Stiles curled up by his side as his hand rests protectively on the kid's back.

After only a minute or two, Derek hears Stiles’ breathing even out and his heart slow.

He looks down at the pup's sleeping face. Stiles is so different as a kid.

He's so trusting of everyone, not suspicious like he is as a teenager. Not to mention how affectionate he is, usually Stiles keeps to himself unless he's with his dad or Scott, but as a kid he's the most cuddliest thing ever.

Derek wonders how much Stiles has changed since Scott became a werewolf. Whether all these subtle changes in Stiles’ demeanor came from his mother's death, Scott's werewolf situation, or if he simply outgrow these little tendencies.

The werewolf can also see a lot of similarities between this Stiles and the teen.

Like how Stiles can figure out something that most people wouldn't notice based on what he observes around him. Derek still doesn't know how the kid figured out that he was a werewolf but he doesn't question it. Stiles has always been smarter than most people give him credit for.

Derek might even go as far as calling him an all out genius.

The kid also has the same habit of blaming himself for everything. He still has nightmares based on actual memories almost every night and he always feels the need to apologize for waking Derek up. No matter how many times the werewolf tells him it's okay the kid always blames himself for the smallest things.

Derek remembers the time when Stiles accidentally broke one of the cups. The little pup was babbling apologies for a solid hour as Derek tried to get him to stop crying.

It wasn't until Derek changed into his wolf form and licked the pup's face that Stiles finally stopped feeling bad about himself.

It's surprising how much Stiles enjoys playing with Derek in his wolf form, maybe even more than he enjoys playing with Derek when he's human.

Derek looks down at the peacefully sleeping child curled up against his chest. He can't deny that spending this time with Stiles was anything but incredible, and he'd be lying if he said he wouldn't miss the little pup when the spell wears off, but he wants the old Stiles back.

The one that would snark and bicker at him. The one that would call him sourwolf at every turn. The one who's sarcasm can rival his own dry wit. The one that he's come to slowly fall in love with.

He doesn't really know when it happened. Maybe it was during one of the numerous times the teen came to the loft to work out a plan to take down the current supernatural threat they were facing. Maybe it was when he was consumed with worry that he might die when he was possessed by the nogitsune.

Derek doesn't know when it happened. All he knows is that somewhere along the way he stopped seeing Stiles as Scott's annoying best friend and started seeing him as the funny, sarcastic, brilliant, gorgeous teen he truly was.

He knows he can't have him. He can't have Stiles. He'll go back to New York like he was supposed to once the spell wears off. He just doesn't know if he could stand being alone again after having this. After having Stiles trust him and spending time with the pack.

Derek got attached and that's his own fault, but, it doesn't mean he's ready for the pain he's sure to endure once Stiles goes back to normal.

Why did he let himself get so close?

 

* * *

 

Derek woke up in the middle of the night after feeling he was being held captive by an octopus.

He tries to see why the hell he woke up, maybe it was just a weird dream, when he comes face to face with a sleeping Stiles cuddling up to him like a fucking koala. A sleeping _18_ year old Stiles.

At first he thinks he's still dreaming, this is all just a figment of his imagination, but then Stiles moves and accidentally kicks him in the balls and yeah. He is definitely not dreaming.

He's ecstatic to have the old Stiles back and more relieved than he would have imagined at the fact that now they don't have a threat hanging over their head anymore. Until he remembers that there was never a threat hanging over his head. He's not part of the pack. Never was and never will be.

Derek needs to leave. He can't stay here, no matter how much he wants to, Stiles doesn't need to be tied to him against his will.

Besides, it's not like Stiles magically likes him all of a sudden. The only reason he was so attached to Derek when he was under the spell was because Derek was the one taking care of him. He would have reacted the same way if it had been anyone else who had found him in the preserve.

So, Derek does the one thing he does best. He leaves.

He's on a plane flying back to New York in less than an hour. It's only 3 in the morning, so he knows Stiles isn't going to wake up anytime soon. Although it's not like he would do anything to stop Derek from leaving anyway. He didn't do anything the first time he left.

Life in New York is… Okay. You can go about your day completely anonymous without anyone so much as looking twice at you since everyone is running around getting things done.

Derek has an penthouse in upper Manhattan. It's noisy as all hell but it's in the more prestigious part of New York so he can't really complain about that. It's weird living in such a lively city when you don't have anything to do. He can get a job but he doesn't really need to with his family's past wealth passed down to him after the fire.

The werewolf came to New York in search of Cora but she's living somewhere in South America if the letter he found in his mailbox was anything to go by.

It's weird, compared to the life he had in Beacon Hills just a few days ago. Derek doesn't want to say he's lonely or anything but… He's lonely.

He misses hearing another heartbeat in the house every time he wakes up, he misses hearing another person's voice resonate through the walls, he misses hearing the sound of laughter and the smell of contentment, he misses Stiles. Not the 4 year old. _His_ Stiles.

The 18 year old teenager that can't stay still more than 0.2 seconds and that is physically incapable of shutting up. The brilliant boy who can always see the patterns behind everything and that always has a sarcastic comment on the tip of his tongue.

He doesn't know how long he stays like that. Not really noticing as the days go by in a state where he's physically attuned to his surroundings but not mentally.

His wolf whines, wanting it's mate and not understanding why they can't be with them. Derek wishes his wolf would just shut up. Stiles doesn't need him. Stiles doesn't _want_ him.

How could he? After all the things Derek has done to him to make sure the teen hated his guts.

He's in the on his laptop reading up on the local news -he likes being informed, sue him- when he hears a knock on the door.

He is instantly on high alert. He can't smell who it is since the air is thick with pollution but he can hear the heartbeat going a mile a minute.

After a moment of contemplating what he should do, he opens the door.

He gets punched in the face.

“You fucking asshole! After everything we went through you just fucking leave the second I turn back?! What the hell! And you couldn't have bothered to make it harder for me to find you?! You better have a good ass explanation Hale!”

Stiles. Stiles is here. In his home. Yelling at him. For leaving?

“What?” He says dumbly as he feels the bruise on his face begin to heal. That actually hurt.

Stiles rolls his eyes, “Unbelievable.” He says as he walks past Derek and into the penthouse.

Derek might be in a daze. Stiles is here. His mate. Why is he here?

“What are you doing here?” He finally finds himself saying, “You should be in college by now.”

Stiles looks at him like he's an idiot, “I'm attending Columbia University, which is pretty fucking close to this place you got here in case you were too busy brooding in solitude to notice.”

Derek is so confused. Stiles is studying in New York, okay, he can understand that. But… Why is he here? In Derek's home. And did he say he was trying to find him?

“Great. Now I broke you.”

Derek looks up from where he was previously staring at the floor in confusion.

Stiles sighs tiredly and walks over to the couch. The werewolf follows but doesn't sit next to the teen like he wants to, simply stands there, awkwardly waiting for Stiles to give him some sort of explanation.

“Okay. I think we can both agree on the fact that you are a complete asshole. I mean, seriously? I woke up at ass o clock only to find that you had already disappeared to who knows where without so much as saying good bye. _Again_. You need to seriously make it up to me if we're going to be mates.”

“What?!”

“You heard me. You have some serious groveling to do. I'm talking flowers, chocolates, candlelit dinners, cheesy declarations if your undying love for me, the whole shebang sourwolf.”

Derek doesn’t know what the hell is going on, “I… I don’t understand.”

Stiles gives him a look that portrays the words ‘I’m so fucking done with your shit right now’ with terrifying accuracy.

“Then let me put this into simple terms.” Stiles states as he looks Derek directly in the eyes.

“I’ve been in love with you since I was 17 and all you did was snark and push me up against walls. I learned to live with the fact that you would never in a million years want me and tried to move on with my life. Then, a stupid witch had to go and turn me into a scared little 4 year old and you took care of me. I remember everything Derek. The way you listened to my babbling like I was actually saying something important, the way you never spoke down to me or belittled me, the way you never treated me like I was defenceless but managed to always be there to protect me when you knew I could get hurt, and the way you held me like I was something important. Like something to be treasured and cared for.”

Stiles takes a shaky breath.

“And I remember waking up after 2 weeks of being a toddler in an empty bed without even so much as a farewell note. At first I was mad, then I was just hurt. But I knew being sad wasn’t going to stop time so I started researching everything I could on sparks and this weird sensation of ‘mine’ that I started to feel towards you. I learned about mates and mate bonds as well as a few quick tricks to keep my spark in order that Deaton taught me. Then it was time for me to leave to college and I knew you were in New York so I cast a locating spell to find you. Little did I know you lived practically walking distance from campus.”

Stiles shook his head, like he couldn’t believe that this was his life, before looking up at Derek again.

“I know that werewolves mate for life and I know I’m not the person you envisioned to be your mate. I’m fidgety and annoying and I never stop talking. Not to mention all the baggage that comes with me. But… if you’ll give me a chance… I’d like to give us a shot.”

All the confidence that was there just a few seconds ago left Stiles’ body until he looked so much like the scared little boy Derek found in the woods it was scary.

Derek could smell the fear of rejection and the self-doubt that is embedded into Stiles’ very core, but, he could also smell the hope and trust that was buried underneath it.

Before he could second guess himself, Derek pushed their lips together in a passionate but soft kiss, pouring all the love and devotion he has felt towards the teen into it.

Stiles kisses back just as eagerly. It feels right. Like this was how things were meant to be, his wolf was practically wagging it’s tail in his head as he feels Stiles’ soft cupid bow lips press against his own.

When they pull back they’re both panting. Resting their foreheads against each other as they lock eyes. Those gorgeous honey brown eyes staring at him with so much trust and adoration that it makes his heart contract at the sight.

“I love you.” Derek says as he pecks Stiles’ lips once more, “so much.”

Stiles smiles, one of those rare shy smiles that Derek can’t help but think they’re exclusively for him, and kisses his nose.

“I love you too, sourwolf.”

Derek makes it his mission to make it up to Stiles every single day of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone hope you guys enjoyed it! Please leave comments and kudos, love you and thank you soo much for reading!! :)


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